Doob locking



Feb. 12,1929.

A. B. LEWIS OPENING, AND CLOSING MECHANISM Filed March 20, 1928 Doon LOCKING IVY INVENTOR.

2 Sheets-Shleet Il zzzzzzzz zzzzz l nfl/n ATTORNEY.

Feb. l2, 1929.

A. B. LEWIS DOOR LOCKING, OPENING, AND CLOSING MECHANISN Filed Marel-12o, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N VEN TOR. Aber 13. Lewlls,

A TToRNEY.

Patented Feb. 1.2, 1929.

UNITED --sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

DOOR LOCKING, OPENING, AND CLOSING MECHANISM.

Application led March 20, 1928. Serial No. `263,197.

\ This invention relates toa door locking, opening and closing mechanism, and one object of the invention is to provide a mechanisn'r of this character adapted to be controlled by the wheels of a vehicle and which is applicable to garage, mine and other doors for automatic control of the doorsby movements of the vehicle.4

Another object of the invention is to pro vide simple, positive, reliable and inexpensive means whereby garage or other doors may be unlocked and opened and closed and locked without the necessity of a driver or other person descending from a car and manipulat ing the doors or operating parts. V i

g Still another obl'ectof the invention is t0 provide a door and lockcontrolling mechanism which comprises a comparatively small number of parts not liable to get out of order and which will not lbe affectedv and rendered inoperativeby rain, `snow orother climatic conditions.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fullyv described and claimed, :reference beinghad to the accomianying dra Wings, in .which:'- I l Figure lis a sectional plan view through a portion of the front of a garage, showing the working parts in their normal position or positionk they occupy when the doors are closed and locked. l i 1 a r .Figure 2 is aV verticallongitudinal'section of the same.

Figure 3 is avertical transverse section through the garage, looking toward the locked and closed doors.V K

Figure 41's a longitudinal'section on an enlarged scale through the outside or primary trip mechanism, showing the parts partly moved for an unlocking action.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing the partsfully moved for a door unlockingand opening action.

Figure 6 is a horizontal section throughl the front of the garage showing the doors closed and locked. 1 y' Figure 7 is a section'fon 'line`7-7 of Figure G. y i

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 showing the locking means retracted-and one of the doors in open position.

In the accompanying drawings, inwhich I haveV disclosed my invention for use in con- `auxiliary door (not shown) arranged in one of the side walls or the rear wall of the garage is provided to enable the driver or other per--v son to enter and leave the garage. The gar age may be provided with a cemented or other suitablyfpaved floor and runway or-approach,

a floor 4i and runway 5 being showny 1n the present instance.

Carried by the doors are keeper members 6 adapted to be engaged. by sprin actuated latches 7 pivotally mounted on the door frame above the doorway. The latches are coupled by flexible connections 8 to a crank arm 9 on `one end of a latch controlling rock shaft'lO,

the other end of which shaft is provided with a crank arm 11 connected by a rod 12 with a crank lmounted on the shaft of a double drum or pulley 14. The shaft of this drum is journaled in suitable bearings arranged upon the Hoor or in a pit or channel sunk in the vfloor between the line of the door way and one of the side walls of the garage,

so asto be out of the way of the travel of the vehicle.

Journaled in bearingsupon the front of -the garage kstructure above the doorway is a door controlling rock shaft 15 provided with crank arms lpcoupled by links 17 with the respective doors. One end of this shaft is also provided with a crank arm 18 to which is fastened one end ofa door opening spring 19, fastened at its `opposite end to lthe front wall of the garage. This spring in practice is `of suflicient strength to actuate the rock shaft 15 to swing both doors to open position when said doors are released by the latches 7. The other end of the shaft 15 also carries a crank arm 2O to which is connected one end of a door controlling spring 21, the opposite end of which spring 21 is connected with one end of a cord or cable 22, which is fastened at its opposite end with one of the pulleys or drum sections of the double drum 14. Another cord or cable 23 is fastened at oneend to the` other pulley or drum section of the rdouble drum 14 and is connectedat its opposite end to one end of a rod 23, which rod extends longitu- Vtliejfront ot tlielgarrage is dinally toward the rear end of the garage and is coupled at its opposite end to a crank arno v 24- of a bail-shapedwheel actuatedtrip inein-v ber 25 mounted to rock forwardly and' rearwardly in suitable supporting; bearings. Between its two liinbs the cable 22 passes one or more tiines, as indicated at 22?, around one of `the pulley or d run'i sections 'of the double pulleyor druin 14. The trip nieni'ber 25 is arranged as to lie in the pat-h oi' a wheel age.- `lhi's-trip nieniber 26lias end portion "f 27V joui-naled-v ii the spaced sides ot an open stationary V'fraaie 28, lined against movement in any suitable inanner. At `its inner end this traine 28 is provided.v 1Vith a crosssbar having:` a guide opening 29n The forward end of a sliding control bar 30'isinovable in said opening 29, and at itsrear end said bar is provided'I with lieaded'stud 31 which en- Y' gag -s and 'fitted to slide 'in the slot of alongitiidinally slotted Ainotion transmitting' vand compensating link ar 32,.'w'liiich-bar is pivlotall'y connected aty its' outer or rear end to ya crank ai-'in 33 oiitlre end 27 of the trip nie1nbei1 26?. 'llliecontrol bar 30 is provided with a-reces'scd portion forming a locking shoulder 37 kto engagea latch, bar 38 `on the traine 28. y' Tlielink 32 isa'dapted'for engagement with aftrip andi guide ineniber 39 on the traine 4whereby its depression for effecting aA de-v pression oii'fthe bai-30 and' anV unlatching' actionV tl'iereo'ty is obtained, as hereinafter described. 4 y y p kto which is fastened one end ot a spring 41,

On the trip 2G is a cranli`| arm L10 the other end ofwhicli is suitably fixed to the traine 23er a portion oi' the runway, said Vspring acting' to permit the trip 26-to 'be swung` outwardly by the wheel of a vehicle leaving the1 garage andato return it, when released by the wheel, to normal position. The bar 30 is' coupled by a connecting rod. 41 with a cord or cable L12 which fastened to the saine pulley or drain section of the double drinnV 111 as the cord or cable 23.

AFiOures 1 2I 3 4 and 7 shows the liosition o1 the parts when the doors are locked in y locked'.

closed positionby the latches 7, and when the garage is empty, th at is', no car is present and acting upon the Vtrip 25 to hold the doors tripy 26 sctfor action, spring- 21 is stressed and/placed under tensionr by the setting of 'ehicl'e entering; the ,Galia-ge and to bek When the garage is vacant/and the,

said trip, and springV 19 .is also stressed.

When the Wheel of a car approachingl the garage strikes the trip 26 and swings itdownwardly and inwardly, the crank arm 33 slides the bar 32 forwardly at a downward inclination under' the guide 39 until said ariii 33 begins toexertdownward pressure on the outer end of the bar 32, tendingl to swing` said bar vertically on the stud 31, whereby pressure willfbe produced on the 'forward end of the 'bar engaging the guide 39, as a resulty of whichthefbar 32 acting as a lever on the stud 31 will force the bar 30 downward, thus throwing its locking should-er k37 outof engagement with the latch bar 38, leavingsai-d barBOfree to slide forwardly, in which action v`stu.d;l 1 slides in the slot of bar 32. 0n the release of bar 30 the spring. 11, which holds the spring` 21 expanded under tension, contracts and said.spi-ing` 21y contracts and ro'-` tates the drum 141, moving the lia-r3() on its releasingr motion and at the saine time inciting :cran-k arm 13 to actuate rod 12 and shaft 10 to retract the latches 7wheieupon the spring 19 will operate to swing the doors 3 open.

Ourthe rotation of the drurn for the unlocking. of the doors trip 25 ismoved rearwardly and cable 23 slackenedto a certain degree.

When the car is driven into the garage and a wheel thereof engages and 'swings the trip 25 forwardly from the full line position to the Vdotted line position shownA Vin' Figli-re 2', this Vslack in cable 23 is taken up and the drum 14 revolved. toy rotate thel drum-Yin the reverse direction toV that vpreviously described, whereby Ythe crank arm 13 will bel movedtoireturn the latches 7 to locking position, while the rock shaft 15 will be; actuated through the connections 22 and 21 to swing" the doors back to closed position, in which action the keepers ico" 6 will ride under and be vautomatically engaged by the latches 7. This condition will endure, the Vdoors being` closed and latched,

and theY trip 26 rei'nainingin thrown position, as long `as the car is ni the garage with its'.

Ywheel engaging and holdingthe trip 25 in its maximum thrown position, yin whichl condif `tion of' th-e parts` spring 21 will be held `stressed. A slight backward movement ot the,` car, whiclifinaybe suoli as to permit the trip 25 to nio-vo back distance'of two or three inches, will relax the tension. onthe 'spring 21 and cause it toturn the drum sui"- Viiciently to operate the rock shaft 1()v to ren tract the-latches 7, without causing the doors to,open,sinoe the spring 21will still be tensioned sutliciently to prevent door opening" f movement ofthe rock shaft 15 by the spring' 19. A 'further backward inovenient oi the car, however, to Athe extent Ao1 two or three inches will besutlicient to reducethe tension of the spring 21 so that the'eqn-ing.;v 19 may-be operated to swingthe" doorsopen before the t-rip25 is fully released bythe ear wheel.

lProvision is thus made tor a Very sensitive`A controlling action by the ear when in the garage, so that a positive door unlocking action ma first be obtained and a door opening action tien secured to ensure a full opening movement ot the doors within a comparatively small period of time, a Jfactor of importance in preventing possible damage to doors when the garage. is small. and very little travel of the car is permitted betere it reaches the doorway. llico the car passes through the doorway and out upon the approach and strikes the tript,` a wheel ot the cai' engaging the trip will s fing it outwardly from the position shown in Figure 5 to that shown in Figures 2 and el, thus resetting or returning the trip 26 and bar i() to normal position in which. the bai' is locked, in which action, through the connections Lil and 12. the drinn 14 is revolved to set the latches 7 into locking position and to swing the doorsI El to closed position, in which they will be automatically locked, through the operation ot the crank shaft 1 5 by the connections Q1 and v From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,

- my improved door opening, closing and locking and unlocking mechanism will be readily understood, and it will be seen that the invention provides a Amech anism oiE this character which is simple of construction, adapted to be positively operated by the wheels ojt a vehicle, and which provides Yl'oi' a` reliable and secure'opening and closing movement of the doors and releasing and locking action of the lockino mechanism. The parts of the mechanism, it is obvious, may bey arranged wholly at one side oit the line of the doorway, so as to be out of the Way, with the exception of the trip projections, ot' the line of travel oit the car, allowing free travel of thc car without liability of damage to'any oit the mechanism. `The mechanism may be in-V stalled in garages ot dil'erent styles at a comparatively low cost, and, yas the-parts require no lubrication, maintenance expenses will be reduced to the minimum. Wiile-tlie parts are of such structure that they are not liable to be clogged or damaged by rain, snow, ice or action ofthe elements, they may be suitably enclosed and protected at comparatively small additional expense.

Thilo the mechanism has been shown as applied, for example, to a fg'a-rage,it is to be understood that it may be used in conj unetion with automatic mine doors or with other doors where it is desirous to employ auto-V matically opening and closing doors operated by the action of a movingl vehicle.

u Having thus :fully describedlmy invention, l claim y l. In a door opening, closing and locking mechanisnn aj door, means for automatically openingthe door, a lock for holding the door closed, al wheel operated member, a bar, locking means '.tor said bar, means operable by said bar.r

the wheel operated member for moving said bar out'ot and into engagement with the locking means, a transmission member, a connection between the transmission member and the door opening means including a spring tensioned when the wheel operated member is in normal position and the bar is locked to move the transmission member for a door unlocking movement when the wheel operated member is actuated to unlock the bar, and an operating connection between the transmission member and the door lock,

Q. ln a door opening, closing and locking mechanism, an automatically opening door, a wheel operated member, a transmission member, a door' lock projected and retracted by reverse movement of said transmission member, a spring tensioned by a door locking movement of the transmission member Yfor transmitting door unlocking motion to said member, and a connection between the transmission member and the wheel operated member including a latch for holding the transmission member in door locking position, said latch adapted to be released by the wheel operated. member to permit the tensioned spring to move the transmission niember to door unlocking position.

3. A door opening, closing and locking mechanism, an automatically opening door,

a lock Yfor holding the door closed, a tilting wheel operated member, a transmission member coupled to the lock 'for projecting and -retracting the same, a spring adaptedto be tensioned Vby the transmission member when moved to lock projecting position for subsequently returning the same to lock releasingl position, abai coupled to the transmission member for shifting it to lock projecting position vand releasing it for movement to lock releasing position, a latch for holding the bai' in the lirst-nained position, and a,V wheel operated member tor unlatching anil resetting `mission member in lock projecting position and releasing it for movement to lock releasposition by the spring.

5. In a door opening, closingl and locking mechanism, a door, a lock `for holding the door closed, a rock shaft coupled to the door, a spring acting on said shaft iter opening the door when the lock is released, a transmission member, a controlling connection between said member and the lock, a second spring connecting the transmission member with the rock shaft and adapted to be tensioned whenl said ltransmission member is in lock projecting position 'tor subsequently returning it to lock retracting position, and wheel controlled means coupled to the transmission member tor holding it in lock projecting position and releasing it forl lool; releasing action by said second spring.

6. ln a door opening, closing and locking means, a. self-opening door, a lock for holding the door closed, a transmission member coupled to thelockand movable to positions to respectivelyhold the lock projected and to release the lock, means set iter operation on the movement oi' the transmission device to its rlirst-named position ytor subsequently moving said device to its second-named position, and wheel controlled means iior moving the transmission. device to its lirst-named position and holding it in said position until operated by a wheeland thereupon releasing said transmission ldevice to permit of its movement to lock releasing position by said iirst-named means. Y,

7. In a door opening, closing and locking mechanisn'na self-opening door, a lockV -itor holding thedoor closed, a transmission meinber for shitting the lock to projected and retracted positions, means normally operative when the transmission device is in loclr projecting position to move it to lock releasing position, a wheel operated member, a bar coupled to said member and operative in one direction to move the transmission device to lock projecting position and when moved in the opposite direction-to permit said device to move to lock releasing position, a latch -ior holding the bar in the first-named position, and connecting means between the wheel operated device and the bar for moving said bar in the direction stated and into and out oi engagement with its latch.

n a door opening, closing and lockingV mechanism, a self-opening door, a lock to hold thedoor closed, Vai transmission device, means operated thereby Vfor projecting and rctracting the lock, a member operatively adjustable by the transmission device its movement-to lock projecting position tor subsequently shit 'ng said device to lock Pleasj position, a 'ding and tilting bar. coupled lo the transmission device and vmovable in de .ice positively one direction to shit id Y lo lock projecting position and in the reverse direction to permit said transmission devn-,c

' to move to lock releasing position, a latch tor holding lsaid bar in the first-named position,

Vmovement lto shift the bar out ot engage- `ment with its'latch v -the transmission member operative onaiiL In a door opening, closing and incl-ting,

mechanism, a door, a spring for opening the door, a lock orholding the door closed, a transmission member coupled to the lock and movable to lock projecting'and releasing positions, a wheel operated member, a second spring adapted to be tensioned when the jectiing position and in the reverse direction A to permit direction. j Y

l0. In a door opening, closing and locking mechanisi'n, a door, a roclr shait coupled to the do r, a spring connected to said shaftv for 'temoins' the door. open, a lock forv holding the said device to move in iocl; releasing door closed, a transmission device coupled to the lock and movable in reverse directions for direction to subsequently shift said devicein i the loclr releasing direction; j j Y 11. vA doorV opening, closing and locking mechanism comprising a pair of wheel operated members located one on each sideof the door, a lock for the door controlledzbyeach wheel operatedv member, spring actuated means `for opening the door when unlocked, a transmission member, connecting means between said transmission member and' the lock, connecting' means between said Vtransmission member and the door opening means inclulling` a spring adapted to be tensioned to hold the unlocked door closed against the action its opening means, connecting means between Vone ot said wheel. operated members andthe transmission n l, `member including a latch toi' holding said a wheel operated member ior sluiting the ment* of said wheel operated member one direction to close the doors, set the loek and tension springpin the Connection between the transmission member and door opening means so that the resist-ance of seid spring to door 5 opening movement will be greater than the workingr strength of the spring of the door opening means, said seeond-named wheel operated member being adapted to be held by a wheel in thrown position against the resistance of the tensioned spring and movable reversely under the action of said spring when relieved from wheel pressure to first release the lock and then untension said spring so as to permit the door to open.

ln testimony whereof I attix my signature.

ALBERT B. LE WIS. 

